John Mayall, Bluesbreakers To Tour With Peter Green

British blues pioneer John Mayall will lead the latest Bluesbreakers lineup on a 25-city North American tour through September.

The trek began Thursday in Sun Valley, Idaho, and after hitting festivals on Sept. 1 in Peoria, Ill., and Sept. 2 in St. Louis, Mayall will lead his band from the East Coast to the West, with a final date Sept. 30 in Merced, Calif.

Mayall helped launch the British blues explosion of the mid-’60s after forming the Bluesbreakers, who featured Eric Clapton on guitar, in 1964. Songs such as “All Your Love” (RealAudio excerpt) and “Hideaway,” from Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton, made the album an influential classic.

After Clapton departed to form Cream, Mayall continued to find new talent, including future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and future Fleetwood Mac member Mick Fleetwood. Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie played on the … With Eric Clapton album.

Former Bluesbreaker guitarist Peter Green will join the tour for most of the performances with his own backing band, the Splinter Group. After leaving the Bluesbreakers, Green went on to form Fleetwood Mac, before dropping out of the music industry for most of two decades.

After years of inactivity himself, Mayall returned in the ’90s, issuing albums such as 1993′s Wake Up Call and last year’s Padlock on the Blues, in which he remains true to his blues foundations in songs such as “Don’t Turn Your Back on Me” (RealAudio excerpt).

His current supporting lineup includes drummer Joe Yuele, guitarist Buddy Whittington and newly added bassist Greg Boaz, who was a longtime member of Dave Alvin‘s backup band.